Subaru Reliability

Comments

I could not duplicate the buzzing. I started at 28, scrolled through several radio stations (to play different music and intensities at that volume setting), then increased the setting to 30 and finally to 36. While there was some distortion at the last setting, I did not hear any buzzing from the speakers.

Perhaps I should note that the car engine was off and the vehicle was stationary at the time of this testing.

Thanks; perhaps this will help when I take my car in on the 23rd. I have noticed that I have some loud rattles in the back now; I think I have isolated them to the rear seatback latch on the driver side and something inside both rear quarter panels. I can duplicate the quarter-panel rattles by closing the rear doors, but the rattle is not coming from the doors.

For me it's the cargo cover. When it is extended to cover up items in the back, it rattles over every bump. When it is unlatched and the contents of the back or open to view, it rattles worse. I was thinking of putting some felt or something to help. I could get the rattling to happen just by using my fist and thumping on the door panel from the inside. Since they did the work, I hear nothing in the doors, however from the from dash I do hear some noises every so often. I must say i was in my friends 2009 toyota rav 4 and it had buzzing and rattling from multiple locations. XT forester drives amazing and it is a fast truck, just wish Subaru would bump up the luxury with more bolstered leather seats and less plastic materials for the trim. It would really be the class leader by a mile if the luxury was ramped up.

My 2009 Forester XT engine, I think main bearing, just failed. At 10,000 miles. The car was dropped off at the dealer at least 3 times, but the dealer never did any maintenance because the car was brought in for specific complaints of vibration and misc noises etc. Now the engine failure is outside of warranty. And they expect me to pay for at least engine installation and possibly turbo parts and labor. Does this seem right? Are there many failures of this type on these engines? Where can I obtain documentation of those failures? Thanks

Outside of warranty? I don't see any way an '09 Forester with 10,000 miles could be out of warranty. Drivetrain components are covered for five years or 60,000 miles, and even the B2B warranty is three years or 36,000. Also, what do you mean by "never did any maintenance;" I am assuming oil was changed on regular intervals, yes?

"... XT turbo engine failure is a known issue for this vehicle affecting 2008-2009 models..."

He said he thought he had a main bearing failure. Perhaps he just assumed it the main bearing. A particular VIN range of the late 2008 and 2009 XT's (those manufactured between Tuesday 8 January and Saturday 5 April 2008) were failing because of disintegration of copper con rod bearing shells, as described in these links:

xwesx, thanks for your reply. That is part of this situation. My wife dropped off the car while I was comfortably at work thinking the dealer was doing maintenance and instead the dealer only worked on the specific trouble report of vibration or leaking tires etc. I am accustomed to and assumed the Subaru dealership service personnel would review the required maintenance and provide advice. I had purchased a service plan from the dealer in which every other oil change was free, including the first one. The oil was never changed.

Hi ateixeira, This is OEM without modifications, without very exciting driving. The engine was cold when the noise started. But now that I am thinking about it, the engine was always noisy at start up, but I figured it was the AC clutch, because it sounded like an AC clutch. Anyway, no mods or chips.

Ouch. 10,000 miles on OEM oil sounds like a death sentence to me. However, I find it shocking that the needed services were never mentioned by the servicing dealer. I get emails all the time from my local dealer saying one service or another is due. I find them a little annoying since I do most of my own maintenance, but I do think it is, in general, a valuable reminder.

"aatherton, thanks for the info. The date ranges for my car and engine need to be compared. I will post updates regarding Subaru NA and the dealerships response to this data."

Well, my data was for failure due to a defect in the XT con rod bearings.

You said your XT's main bearings failed, and have now added that your XT's oil was not changed for 10,000 miles. It sounds like it was not even checked. The oil became sludgey, the filter filled with crud, and the oil burned off until the level dropped to the bottom of the sump. All of that probably happened -- a lack of lubrication which would wear and damage the main bearings.

The required oil change interval for an XT is 3,750 miles. That is why Subaru is saying the warranty does not cover your engine.

If a car is brought in to fix a rattle, it will not get its oil changed unless that is asked for. There is no connection between the timing of a rattle visit, and the schedule of an oil change.

Nor is it the dealer's responsibility to keep track of when the last oil change was done and when the next one is due. The dealer may attempt automated notifications that an oil change appears to be coming due, but the service writer dealing with a rattle complaint is not likely to think "oil change".

Thanks to all for sharing thoughts and analysis...including consideration of my somewhat imprecise data. I know there is good intent and wisdom in the discussion. It helps me understand and to make better decisions. Regards